China is on course to build a record number of cinemas this year in a burst of movie infrastructure development that is partly aimed at rivalling the "soft power" of Hollywood. Following the state-backed expansion of China's TV and newspaper industries since 2009, the government is promoting a major push of film production and distribution.

Award-winning contemporary American documentary films and filmmakers are giving audiences around the world new insights into life and culture in the United States. A touring program of about 60 independently produced documentaries is traveling to almost 25 countries worldwide...

As if there were any doubt about India’s mounting anxieties concerning its status vis-à-vis China, the July 12th issue of India Today, India’s largest-circulation newsmagazine, includes an article on Indian versus Chinese soft power that depicts a substantial Indian deficit.